Mitch clasped his hands into fists. The Gryphon had dropped into real space barely an hour before, and already his fingers tingled from the effects of the phase shift. With each passing moment his body’s molecules faded a little bit more, but he pushed the potential aside. That first Terran crew, Lara’s father included, had spent more than three months on Creed before experiencing phase-sync problems. Terran scientists learned later that with every trip, one’s grace period shortened. Cross-dimensional missions—whether Terrans visiting Creed or vice versa—were now intermittent.
He had about a week, tops. His stomach flopped over and cold, hard dread filled him. The patch on his wrist would tell him for sure when it turned from green to black. Since the launch Mitch had wanted to pick apart one of Lara’s wrist-sync devices. Terran scientists had tried for years, with little success, to figure out what enabled Chimerans to exist in both dimensions indefinitely. Maybe the wrist-syncs—and Rafe’s research—held the key and could buy him more time.
“You okay?”
Mitch caught Lara staring at his hands.
“Fine.”
“Your hands are shaking.”
Mitch stuffed his hands into pockets. “On my last few missions I’ve noticed an hour or so of transition when traveling to Creed. So many missions often have that effect.”
Lara pulled a hand from her pocket and traced her fingers over his knuckles. “You’ll tell me if it worsens, won’t you?”
For a second Mitch’s brain froze. The warmth of her fingers spread through his cold palm. The transition always brought on this frigid sensation, as if death’s icy fate prodded him on the shoulder each time. That Lara’s pride allowed her to reach out literally or figuratively surprised him.
Mitch’s mind snapped back into motion and he turned his palm over to clasp hers. “I have plenty of time.” Part of him wanted to reveal his seven-day expiration date, but Lara didn’t need to know that now. She’d expect a standard three-week mission. Could he trust her yet with that kind of information, or would her temper rear again at any time?
Lara looked up at him then, and he didn’t miss the split-second her liquid bi-color gaze fell on his mouth. “Thank you.”
She started to say more, licked her lips even. Mitch smiled. He never expected to see Lara Soto stumble. With one single tug she could be in his arms again. With one single step he could be kissing her neck again, pulling out that ponytail—
“Thank you for earlier, on the bridge. For taking care of my crew.”
And me. Lara would never say it out loud.
Mitch let out the breath he’d been holding, but not her hand. “You’re welcome.”
Soon his missions would have to stop. Except for Chimerans, a body could only take the shifting between dimensions so many times before disintegration became imminent.
No matter what, at least he’d be spending his last remaining moments with Captain Lara Soto.
Rossa awaited them at the end of the boarding ramp next to the shuttle Calypso.
“We’re clear to depart, Captain. Should I ready the crew for R&R as usual?”
Lara shook her head. “Not yet, Rossa. I have no idea how the countess will react to the news of the Interlace.”
Mitch winced. In less than an hour he was going to have to face Lara’s mother as she learned that her son had gone missing. And it was all his fault. Sure, Rafe could act just as stubborn as his sister, but the original mission had been Mitch’s idea. Just another way for Terra to get ahead of Creed.
And then there was the transmission Rafe had made just before the Interlace disappeared. Mitch had been the last person to speak to Lara’s brother, but if he revealed that much, he’d also have to tell her what Rafe said to him. Doing that would end his career for good.
Lara started up the gangway with a strong stride that in no way lessened the sway of her hips. “I’ll send word about how long we’re staying on Creed as soon as I know.”
Rossa nodded and Mitch followed Lara up the ramp. Inside the small shuttle, Chandra sat in the pilot’s chair and powered through checklists. The interior design of the Calypso followed suit with the aesthetic of molded controls and soft tones. Lara took navigation and motioned for Mitch to man the comm links. With a smooth launch, they left the safety of the Gryphon and in minutes were hurtling through Creed’s atmosphere.
The shuttle knifed through the cloud cover and soon Nessa pod loomed before them. Its fluid circular shape undulated in a small mountain on one side and a valley opposite. Stories of housing, farming, water recycling, business and recreation were wrapped in its efficient lily-pad form. Pods functioned as city-states that convened a parliament several times a year. The communities met regularly for festivals that allowed trade between the communities.
Chandra landed the shuttle cleanly. Out the viewport, Mitch recognized the bright and smooth lines of Nessa’s only mountain. Many other community pods were built in a similar shape, but Nessa’s was the most recognizable. Mitch also enjoyed Nessa’s regional cuisine the most—especially drinking its rich dark kafve. He snapped off the restraints and noticed that Lara hadn’t moved. Instead she stared out at the landscape.
Mitch smoothed the back of his hand down Lara’s arm. “Captain.”
Lara shook herself awake and unlocked the restraints. “Home sweet home, right?”
Before he could answer, she bolted out of her chair and palmed open the launch doors. Chandra continued running through landing protocols.
She snapped up her coat’s leather throat flap. “Chandra, stay here until I know how long we’ll be.”
Together they marched down the gangway toward the Creed receiving line. At the head of the line stood Sabine Osai, her short crop of steel-gray hair tipping him off from photos he’d seen of the woman. Lara had inherited her father’s olive complexion but resembled Sabine in the angle of cheekbones and chin. Countess Osai greeted them clad in a brocade aqua dress, ornate in its decoration but simple in its cut, her beads of office decorating a slim neck. The woman’s sea-foam green eyes stared up at him with a wary expression as she embraced her daughter and made Mitch doubt any kind of warm reception.
The Countess of Nessa and Prime Minister of Creed smoothed a strand of hair away from Lara’s face. “It’s been too long, a grai. I can see already that something bothers you. What is it?”
Mitch followed Lara’s glance up at the rest of the receiving line with a sinking heart. No sign of Rafael. Asking about her brother in front of Sabine’s entourage could stir up rumors.
Lara grasped her mother’s elbow. “Not here. Can we speak in private?”
Sabine’s expression sobered, but she linked her arm through Lara’s. “Of course. We must go through the pleasantries first, but it shouldn’t take more than a few minutes.” She glanced over at Mitch, assessing him from head to foot with a glance. “I suppose you should bring the commodore along as well.”
Lara’s step faltered as Sabine led them down the walkway to tall plasti-glass doors ahead. “Mother, please don’t—”
Sabine patted Lara’s hand. “I have assumed for some time, my dear, that the commodore’s plan was to meet every single Creed podmate before me.”
Lara entered the lush salon first and sat while her mother dismissed the staff. Heavily embroidered fabrics adorned every inch of furniture, but all in soothingly muted tones contrasting with the vivid blues of the sunlit sea and sky. The heat might beat down upon them beyond this room, but under this roof all was calm and cool.
Mitch stood by the window with hands clasped behind his back and a half smile on his face, but one quick glance at his tight shoulders told Lara he was not so tranquil as their surroundings. Neither of them had said much on the inbound trip, but Lara had been too distracted rehearsing her words to worry much over his silence. Still, Mitch would support whichever version of the truth she revealed to Sabine. He had no choice. Upsetting his Chimeran and Creed hosts would not bode well for diplomatic relations.
Lara was
obliged to tell her mother that she’d seen, even talked to, Rafael during their Trans-D trip from Terra, even if her mother disbelieved it. She’d only told Mitch about the conversation with her brother, but even he might think it was just some figment of her imagination. Rafael’s appearance had not been the work of an overactive mind and Lara was determined to prove it. Let them think her crazy if the end result was Rafael’s safe return.
I am not alone here, Lara.
She heard Rafael’s voice again as if he stood here in the room, yet she still had no idea who he’d been referring to. Her skin broke out in gooseflesh and a shiver licked down her spine. What entity was entrapping him and the Interlace crew between dimensions? Unless Mitch was lying—and the man was many painful things, but not a liar—then someone other than the Terrans were in play here. Either the Terrans were lying to Mitch or they had an as-yet-unknown mutual enemy. Telling her mother those suspicions might cause her to do something rash. Lara wanted to bring back Rafael herself.
Sabine clicked the door shut behind her. “Now we may speak freely.” Her eyes darted to Mitch.
He stepped closer. “If you would prefer I wait in the hall, Countess, I am happy to do that.”
Sabine sat beside Lara and clasped her hand. “No, no. If my daughter trusts you, then so do I. For the most part.”
Mitch sat in a chair opposite them. “Then you may have more faith in me than your daughter does.”
Lara ignored their tension. All she could think about was her brother and hope that, over time, Mitch and her mother would come to terms. “Mother, is Rafael here on Creed?”
Sabine shook her head. “I spoke to him a few weeks ago. He was about to leave on a new mission and promised to visit afterward. I’ve been expecting him any time now. How nice it will be to have both of my children home together again.”
Lara’s fear erupted all at once and the panic she’d held in check since seeing Rafael on the Gryphon’s bridge finally took hold. Her twin could be dead. She choked back a sob.
Sabine’s grasp tightened. “What’s happened?”
Lara sucked in a breath and dared a split-second glance at Mitch. For strength. “Rafael’s ship, the Interlace, went missing two weeks ago, Mother. The Terrans have tried contacting you, but interference has affected wormhole comm transmissions. Have you heard from him?”
The countess closed her eyes. “Two weeks? With no word at all?”
Lara sighed. She had to tell her mother about seeing Rafael on her trip through the wormhole. “I’ve spoken to him—”
Mitch stood up. “Lara, no—”
“I have to tell her. Even if you don’t believe me, I have to tell her everything.”
Her mother narrowed her eyes. “What’s going on?”
“On the trip here from Terra. While in the wormhole we encountered some problems. Rafael appeared to me, Mother. I know it was real. He said he was trying to ‘free them all.’ I don’t know what he was talking about, but at least I know he’s alive.”
Mitch clasped the back of the chair and leaned forward. “We know nothing of the sort, Lara. We can’t give your mother false hope. You were ill. Your conversation with Rafe might have just been your imagination—”
“You said you believed me.”
“I want to believe you. But the Chimerans were the only ones to experience the vertigo. We can’t be sure yet that it wasn’t some kind of Trans-D dementia or something—”
Lara stood up. “Dementia? Are you joking? Thirty trips might be impressive for a Terran, Mitch, but I’ve easily traveled through the wormhole twice that with no problems. Not one bit of DNA transmutation. I know what I saw. I know I spoke to Rafael.”
Mitch jerked back from the chair. “Did he tell you anything we can use? Did he reveal any way we can help him? I want to help Rafe as much as you do, Lara, but the truth is he didn’t tell you much of any use.”
“He told me to look at the comm logs and find his research. I know he’s working toward freeing the Interlace crew and that he’s trying to free the Terrans first. Doesn’t that sound like something Rafael would do?”
“Yes, it does. Rafe would indeed put himself last and help those who needed it most, but he didn’t give us much to go on.”
Sabine stepped between them. “I’ll speak to the defense minister. We’ll send a ship into Trans-D space immediately to try to make contact.”
Mitch pinched the bridge of his nose. “Please, no, Countess. I’m officially asking you not to interfere in our investigation. I know you fear for your son, I really do, but the Interlace is a Terran ship and not your responsibility.”
“My son is always my responsibility.”
“I understand why you feel that way, Madame Osai, but you don’t have the coordinates for where the Interlace entered Trans-D space. That information is classified and I’m not at liberty to release it.”
Lara crossed her arms. “If you weren’t using a standard travel lane, then you’ve already broken about three treaties. When will you hand over the comm logs and research?”
“Terra planned to share the data with Creed as soon as we analyzed it.”
She wrenched him back by the arm. “You’re still a real jackass, you know that, Mitch?”
Mitch yanked his arm free. “People don’t change, Lara. I want to find Rafe. You and your ship are our best chance of doing that. Feel free to hate me, but know that we’re on the same team.”
Chapter Six
Rafael sprawled in the command chair of the Interlace, head back, arms dangling down, fingertips brushing against the decking. His uniform jacket hung open. Calendra draped herself over his naked chest and the long cloudlike tendrils of her hair wrapped him in a cocoon of ecstasy and pain.
Around him the crew thrashed, locked in their own torture with the Revenant.
He heard Calendra’s thoughts like a whirlwind across his mind, shared her pain and pleasure along every nerve ending. The woman had endured agony for a thousand years. At least until she’d found him.
So sweet. So sweet. The flesh. Solid. Miss the sweet.
Calendra’s hopes and fears ran rampant in his head, constant any time she touched him. And she touched him often. Right now the woman splayed her hands through his once-dark hair and kissed the three tiny star tattoos along his neck. Ground against him. Rafe’s muscles tightened and he reciprocated.
The jumbled storm of her mind sucked him down to relive her memories—cold champagne splashing over her hand as she toasted the launch of the science vessel Revenant, her first sweeping view of the half-built ship in dry dock, clinging tight to her daughter on a merry-go-round.
“You had a daughter?” The words nearly choked on the grief in his throat.
Calendra paused in her ministrations and he sensed a sudden stillness in her embrace. Her mind’s tempest settled and she clung to him like an earthly ballast and safeguard from the wormhole’s pulverizing disintegration. Whatever human remnant was left of Calendra Kai after enduring such imprisonment needed him as an anchor.
“Two.” Calendra lifted surprisingly lucid gray eyes to him. “I had two daughters.”
The champagne toast flashed again, this time followed by a feminine laugh and an “Oh, Mother, don’t be such a stick in the mud!”
Rafe cupped Calendra’s cheek and brushed his thumb over her bottom lip. “Your daughters were with you on the Revenant?”
Calendra broke eye contact and her thoughts jumbled out like an overturned cart. Glimpses of moments sped past him too quickly to grasp.
“One was on the ship with me, my older daughter. She was a scientist who didn’t survive the initial crash into the wormhole. The other stayed behind with her father.”
“And that father? What happened to him?” It scared Rafe how badly he wanted to know.
“He’s been dead for a millennium, Rafe. As have been my whole family. What does it matter? Whoever you left behind will forget you in a thousand years too.”
Rafe pulled her closer. “I
won’t be here for a thousand years.”
“I believed that in the beginning too. We all did. Memories and imagined reunions sustained me for a long time, but eventually the wormhole won.”
“I’m not leaving this wormhole prison without you.”
“You’re not leaving at all. And neither am I. We’ve tried so many times, Rafe. There is no escape. Just give in to it. At least you won’t be alone as I have been. You’ll have me.”
“I can’t give up—”
She caressed lazy circles on his chest. “Why go back to mortality when we can have eternity together?”
“This place is madness. It’s nearly driven you insane.”
Calendra dropped her hand. “Who do you have to return to?”
Rafe met her gray gaze, now full of hard glinting steel. “A hotheaded sister who will stop at nothing to find me and a Star Union Commodore who probably blames himself for my predicament. I can’t sentence them to a lifetime of futile effort.”
“In this place you’d be free to follow your own whims. What you’ve left behind won’t matter.”
Rafe enveloped Calendra in his arms lightly, wary of her delicate bones. She settled her head on his shoulder and melted into each pore of him. How he yearned to reciprocate, but could such a frail creature withstand his feral reaction? He probably had nothing to worry about. His muscles had withered in the short time he’d been trapped here, but Calendra’s body felt like mist, ephemeral. “I’ll tell you what else I’ve left behind. My mother is Creed’s prime minister.” Calendra’s slender body twitched and he smiled. Finally, a way to reach her. “Creed is home, isn’t it?”
She curled deeper into his neck. “My home is here now. As is yours, whether you accept it or not.”
“My father is from another dimension, from Terra. That very dimension your ship was trying to access.”
The Spiral Path Page 4
